This is where I am supposed to put all the letters that
follow my name to “convince you I am worth listening to.” I should also include
the schools that taught me everything I will write. I offer you neither.
Actually, the idea is to tell you “About the Author” so you
can decide. Tozer always said that he never wanted to “reason anyone into
Christ” because anyone reasoned in can just as easily be reasoned out.
Scripture (the Manual) says, “…all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of
God...” (Romans 3:23) The Manual also says that, “…the Holy Spirit…will teach (us)
all things…” (John 14:26) Believing these things to be true, and while I strive
to represent The Image well, I would never want you to judge Scripture, The
Church, or God by me when clearly it is supposed to be the other way around.
What I write, I write prayerfully, seeking to learn what The
Holy Spirit has to teach. What I learn, I pass along to you. “They who have
ears to hear, let them hear.” Along with the Manual, I often quote other students
of the Spirit, but only after holding them to the same scrutiny, i.e. Is what
they pass along lockstep with the Manual? The Manual doesn’t say to check their
C.V. or Resume from the world. It says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” (1 John 4:1)
Included in what I write are short bios of some of those who
taught me, my professors. Like me, they have no letters after their names. Even
though one of my most valued teachers is known as the Father of Modern
Chemistry, he was self-taught. From the age of fourteen, he endeavored to make
himself qualified to offer an opinion. In doing so, he taught himself several
of the sciences as well as multiple languages, including those of the original
Bible. This self-taught man is one of the greatest scientists and theologians
the world has ever known and all but forgotten. He is one who is seldom
mentioned in the modern world’s marble halls. Likewise, two other teachers were
pulled by God from the hills of rural America. Neither received their wisdom
from the halls of knowledge but from God Himself. One began his preaching
career at the age of twelve while the other began preaching on the streets at the
age of nineteen before becoming ordained. Both became well known and well
published, often asked to speak at the very same seminaries they did not attend.
I have also been taught by an Anchoress and by Doctors of Divinity. To these, I
continue adding other great servants of God. Most importantly, I have been
taught by the Apostles themselves from the only Book of instruction that really
matters. Christ Himself pulled these men – fishermen, tax collectors and the like
– from among the common sheep, teaching them not to join the elite but to
confront them.
Now, About the Author: “In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) The Author wrote all
we need to know a long time ago. We are “not to add to or subtract from” what
He has written. So, I and those I reference seek only to bring His call and His
words to His sheep. Whether they are in the Fold or Lost in the World, our
instructions are to relay His Offer, Live up to His Offer and Uphold His Offer,
no more and no less.